Japan will turn to overseas markets for the second time in a year as their butter shortage continues. The government is planning to import an extra 10,000 tons of butter by the end of October reported Kyodo News. The move may benefit suppliers in New Zealand, where Japan bought much of the record 12,900 tons it imported to replenish stocks when butter disappeared from shop shelves at the end of last year, a time when demand soars for making cakes.

Officials from the city of Zhuhai, China, and the University of California, Davis, have signed a memorandum of understanding to establish the World Food Center-China. The WFC-China will be the central office for coordinating research and training activities in food safety for various Sino-U.S. Joint Research Centers across the country. A facility for the center is being developed in a newly created economic zone in Zhuhai’s Guangdong province, a region known for its technology industry, economic vitality and proximity to Hong Kong.

Saudia Arabia-based Almarai will invest $5.59 billion in a strategy to grow its food and beverage operations, reinforce its presence in several markets and double revenues through 2020. The strategy also includes an expansion of the firm's farming, manufacturing, distribution and logistics in each of its dairy, bakery and poultry segments. Almarai manufactures dairy and juice products under the Almarai brand. A few of their products include fluid milk, UHT milk, evaporated milk, cheese, butter and infant formula.

Italian cheese and dairy-product exports rose to a new record of €2.2 billion in 2014, an increase of 4.8 percent in value on 2013, according to farm research body ISMEA.In terms of volume, growth was 3.3 percent, to 331,000 tons.

Australian production of cheese and skim milk powder (SMP) have both increased during the first quarter of 2015. Cheese production is up 12.4% in the nine months to March 2015 while SMP production is up 13.4%.

Chinese whole milk powder inventories, a key driver of the global dairy market, will fall sharply this year, as expectations for imports are revised down, but from levels far higher than previously thought, US officials said. The US Department of Agriculture's Beijing bureau has cast doubts on the accuracy of previous estimates of January 2015 whole milk powder stocks, leading to a bearish revision of demand forecasts.

Idaho surpassed New York State as the nation’s third largest milk producer after California and Wisconsin, generating 13.9 billion pounds of milk in 2014, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s latest report. Idaho’s total dairy revenue in 2014 was up 12.5% over 2013 due to investments from companies including Chobani, Glanbia Foods and numerous other dairy processors.

The $107.3 million acquisition of Lion Dairy & Drinks' everyday cheese business by Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Factory is now complete, transferring ownership of the Lion unit's operations, distribution, intellectual property and cut and wrap facility to the Saputo subsidiary. Lion Dairy sold its EDC unit as part of a strategy to focus on milk-based beverages, specialty cheese and yogurt, Lion's Managing Director Peter West said.